Systems and methods for content storage

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for A set top box (STB) displaying an Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) on a display, recording a program to a storage device and in response to a single selection from a user, transferring a program and auxiliary data related to the program from a first storage device of the STB to a removable storage device. In one or more arrangements, a system may record a program to one storage device upon determining the unavailability of a second storage device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityfrom co-pending application Ser. No. 09/875,547, filed Jun. 5, 2001, andentitled “Enhanced Home Entertainment System with Removable Long-TermStorage,” which claims priority to provisional application Ser. No.60/224,822, filed Aug. 11, 2000, and provisional application Ser. No.60/215,681, filed Jun. 30, 2000. The content of the above applicationsare hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention is related to the field of home entertainment systems.More specifically, the invention relates to providing an integratedentertainment system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) displays information aboutprograms a viewer is currently watching as well as information aboutother programs on different channels or at different times. The firstEPGs were typically displayed on one channel of a cable televisionsystem. These early EPGs were simple, displaying short programdescriptions and scrolling past the screen at a predetermined rate.Also, these EPGs typically did not allow for user interaction. Morerecent digital EPGs allow for the user to interact with the programmingschedule, and to view programs while scanning the guide. However,digital EPGs still typically rely on the television as a means ofshowing the EPG.

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical home entertainment system. Homeentertainment system 10 comprises signal input 15, set-top box 20,television based web-browser 25, recording device 30, auxiliaryrecording device 35, stereo receiver 40, digital versatile disk (DVD)player 45, and television or other video monitor 50.

Entertainment system 10 could have, in addition to the connectionsshown, networking connections for set-top box 20, web-browser 25, andrecording device 30. Many of these devices require either telephoneconnections or Internet connections in order to program them.

Entertainment system can be difficult for the novice user to set up.Additionally, because the connections between the components aretypically analog, the number of connections between input 15 andtelevision 50 can seriously degrade the signal quality.

What is needed is a way to simplify the connections required for anentertainment system, in addition to reducing the amount of signaldegradation present in the typical entertainment system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for a set top box(STB) to display an Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) on a display, andin response to a single selection from a user, transferring a programand auxiliary data related to the program from a first storage device ofthe STB to a removable storage device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical entertainment system; and

FIG. 2 illustrates an integrated home entertainment system

FIG. 3 is one example of a computer system according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One embodiment provides a method and apparatus for integrating anentertainment system to prevent confusion and signal loss. In thefollowing description, for purposes of explanation, specific details areset forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention.However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that thesespecific details are not required in order to practice the presentinvention.

An EPG allows a user to perform a range of functions that may be usefulwhen watching television. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,421,067,entitled “ELECTRONIC PROGRAMMING GUIDE,” and issued Jul. 16, 2002,describes in more detail the functions of an EPG and is herebyincorporated by reference

The main function of an EPG is to allow a user to view program listingssorted by channel and time. Newer EPGs allow a user to browse throughthe listings, and to get detailed information about specific programs.EPGs may also allow a user to select certain channels or programs inwhich the user is particularly interested. Additionally, an EPG maycontrol a recording device, and start recording when programs selectedby the user are shown.

FIG. 2 illustrates an integrated entertainment system. Currententertainment systems contain many different components. Setting up anentertainment system is typically very difficult, and additionallyanalog signals that are passed from component to component cansignificantly degrade.

Entertainment system 100 comprises a set top box (STB) 105, a televisionor other video display 110, and a digital versatile disc-random accessmemory (DVD-RAM) drive or other recording device 115. STB 105 processesthe signals sent by a service provider, and its function is furtherdescribed below. Video display 110 displays video signals outputted bySTB 105, and may be a television, projection system, plasma screen,liquid crystal display (LCD) or any other device capable of displayingvideo signals. Recording device 115 can be attached to STB 105 toreceive either digital or analog signals, and may be a DVD-RAM drive, avideo cassette recorder (VCR), or any other device capable of recordingvideo.

STB 105 further comprises an signal input 120, dual tuners 125 and 130,video circuitry 135, an output port 140, a hard drive 145, a centralprocessing unit (CPU) and memory system 150, an digital videoencoder/decoder 155, and a digital input/output port 160. Thecombination of these devices into STB 105 reduces the complexity of ahome entertainment system. STB 105 performs the functions of a typicalset top box, a hard drive-based digital recording device, an Internetconnectivity device, and may also include hardware to process audiosignals. Further, because of the relatively small number of connectionswithin STB 105, signal degradation is significantly reduced. Also, manyconnections within STB 105 may be or are digital connections, and willnot affect the signal in any way.

A signal may be routed into STB 105 using input 120. Signals may bereceived from any of a number of sources, including cable, satellite andantenna. The signal is then sent to tuners 125 and 130. STB 105 maycontain one or more tuners; with two tuners, it is possible to havepicture-in-picture (PIP) functionality. Also, one or more tuners may beconfigured to be a cable modem to facilitate Internet connectivity.

Video circuitry 135 may be either a two dimensional or three dimensionalgraphics chip for displaying an Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) orother information on video display 110. Signals are sent from videocircuitry 135 to video display 110 through output port 140.

Hard drive 145 is capable of storing video encoded by CPU 150 and videoencoder/decoder 155. Hard drive 145 further contains operations software165, which controls the functions of STB 105. Software 165 may also beupdated via a network or other means when updates are necessary. Videoencoder/decoder 155 may encode and decode digital video using the MovingPicture Experts Group (MPEG) standard or any other method of encodingand decoding digital video. Hard drive 145 may also send data throughport 160 to recording device 115.

STB 105 may further include a modem (not shown) to connect to theInternet or other online services. Also, output port 140 may beconfigured to accept high or medium speed devices, possibly usinguniversal serial bus (USB), parallel, FireWire™, Ethernet or otherconnections.

Additionally, current hard drive based recording systems, such as TiVo™and ReplayTV™, make permanent copies of recorded programs by writing toa cassette tape. STB 105 can record to a DVD-RAM, providing ahigher-quality and more permanent recording.

STB 105 can also be connected to a stereo or surround-sound receiver. Itis also possible to integrate hardware necessary to produce audio and toprovide more functionality and integration. DVD-RAM drive 115 may alsobe integrated into STB 105 if desired. Entertainment system 100 may becontrolled by a remote computing device such as computing device 150(see FIG. 2).

Entertainment system 100 can further provide this functionality withoutrequiring a user to insert blank media or to reconfigure STB 105. A usermay instruct STB 105 to record a program. The program will then berecorded to hard drive 145, using video encoder/decoder 155. At a latertime, a user can insert a blank media, and instruct STB 105 to record tothat blank media. This way, if a user does not have any blank media, orsimply does not wish to set up the system at that time, the user maystill record the desired program.

Entertainment system 100 can also provide for single-button recording toa digital media. In one embodiment, in response to a user making asingle button selection, a selected program and auxiliary informationrelated to the program is transferred from a storage device in the STBto a removable storage device. In one embodiment, the removable storagedevice may be a DVD-RAM. In alternative embodiment, other types ofremovable storage devices may be used.

The single button selection may include the selection of a button on apanel of the STB or a panel on a remote control. The remote control mayalso be a personal digital assistant and/or a web phone.

Recordings made can be sourced out to a spindle farm, a DVD-RAM jukeboxor any other massive storage medium. Recordings can be made andorganized using the EPG provided to the STB 205. Such methods should beable to store massive amounts of data and a significant amount of video.For example, programs and their related auxiliary data could be indexedby the STB onto the jukebox or other storage device. When a user selectsa program that is stored on a removable storage, the STB would promptthe user to insert the removable storage containing the selectedprogram.

Several alternative embodiments of entertainment system 100 exist. Videoencoding and decoding can be performed by software stored on hard drive145 and processed in CPU 150. Or, a combination of software and hardwareinstruction for encoding and decoding video is possible. Also, manydifferent types of recording media can be used, such as: optical,magnetic, laser magnetic, tape, cartridge, or flash random access memory(RAM).

The system and method described herein may be integrated into advancedInternet-or network-based knowledge systems as related to informationretrieval, information extraction, and question and answer systems. FIG.3 is an example of one embodiment of a computer system 300. The systemshown has a processor 301 coupled to a bus 302. Also shown coupled tothe bus 302 is a memory 303 which may contain instructions to performthe method described herein. Additional components shown coupled to thebus 402 are a storage device 405 (such as a hard drive, floppy drive,CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.), an input device 406 (such as a keyboard, mouse,light pen, barcode reader, scanner, microphone, joystick, etc.), and anoutput device 407 (such as a printer, monitor, speakers, etc.). Ofcourse, an exemplary computer system could have more components thanthese or a subset of the components listed.

The system and method described herein may be stored in the memory of acomputer system (i.e., a set-top box) as a set of instructions to beexecuted, as shown by way of example in FIG. 3. In addition, theinstructions to perform the system and method described herein mayalternatively be stored on other forms of machine-readable media,including magnetic and optical disks. For example, the system and methodof the present invention may be stored on machine-readable media, suchas magnetic disks or optical disks, which are accessible via a diskdrive (or computer-readable medium drive). Further, the instructions maybe downloaded into a computing device over a data network in the form ofa compiled and linked version.

Alternatively, the logic to perform the system and method describedherein may be implemented in additional computer and/or machine-readablemedia such as discrete hardware components as large-scale integratedcircuits (LSI's), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC's),firmware such as electrically erasable programmable read-only memory(EEPROM's), and electrical, optical, acoustical, and other forms ofpropagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digitalsignals, etc.).

The embodiments above have been described in sufficient detail with acertain degree of particularity. It is understood to those skilled inthe art that the present disclosure of embodiments has been made by wayof examples only and that numerous changes in the arrangement andcombination of parts may be resorted without departing from the spiritand scope of the embodiments as claimed. Accordingly, the scope isdefined by the appended claims rather than the forgoing descriptions ofembodiments.

1. A method comprising: receiving, by a content rendering system, arequest to record a program; automatically recording the program to afirst storage device when a second storage device is unavailable;receiving, by the content rendering system, a selection of the recordedprogram from a listing of one or more programs; and automaticallytransferring the recorded program from the first storage device to thesecond storage device in response to receiving the selection of therecorded program from the listing of one or more programs.
 2. The methodof claim 1, further including, in response to user input correspondingto a transfer command, transferring the recorded program from the secondstorage device to the first storage device, wherein the user inputincludes a pressing of a portion of at least one of: a control panel ofthe content rendering system, a remote control device associated withthe content rendering system, and a web phone.
 3. The method of claim 2,further including maintaining an index of programs and related auxiliarydata transferred from the first storage device to the second storagedevice.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising, in response to theselection of the recorded program, the content rendering systemprompting for the insertion of a removable storage medium into thecontent rendering system.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein theremovable storage medium comprises a DVD-RAM.
 6. One or morenon-transitory computer readable media storing computer readableinstructions that, when executed, cause an apparatus to: receive arequest to record a program; automatically record the program to a firststorage device when a second storage device is unavailable; receive aselection of the recorded program from a listing of one or moreprograms; and automatically transfer the recorded program from the firststorage device to the second storage device in response to receiving theselection of the recorded program from the listing of one or moreprograms.
 7. The one or more computer readable media of claim 6, furtherincluding instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to, inresponse to user input corresponding to a transfer command, transferringthe recorded program from the second storage device to the first storagedevice, wherein the user input includes a pressing of a portion of atleast one of: a control panel of the apparatus, a remote control deviceassociated with the apparatus, and a web phone.
 8. The one or morecomputer readable media of claim 7, further including instructions that,when executed, cause the apparatus to maintain an index of programs andrelated auxiliary data transferred from the first storage device to thesecond storage device.
 9. The one or more computer readable media ofclaim 8, further including instructions that, when executed, cause theapparatus to, in response to the selection of the recorded program,prompt for the insertion of a removable storage medium into theapparatus.
 10. The one or more computer readable media of claim 9,wherein the removable storage medium comprises a DVD-RAM.
 11. Anapparatus comprising: at least one processor; and memory operativelycoupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions that,when executed, cause the apparatus to: receive a request to record aprogram; automatically record the program to a first storage device whena second storage device is unavailable; receive a selection of therecorded program from a listing of one or more programs; andautomatically transfer the recorded program from the first storagedevice to the second storage device in response to receiving theselection of the recorded program from the listing of one or moreprograms.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the memory furtherincludes instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to, inresponse to user input corresponding to a transfer command, transfer therecorded program from the second storage device to the first storagedevice, wherein the user input includes a pressing of a first portion ofat least one of: a control panel of the apparatus, a remote controldevice associated with the apparatus, and a web phone.
 13. The apparatusof claim 12, wherein receiving the request to record the programincludes receiving user input comprising pressing of the first portionof the at least one of: a control panel of the apparatus, a remotecontrol device associated with the apparatus, and a web phone.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein the memory further includes instructionsthat, when executed, cause the apparatus to maintain an index ofprograms and related auxiliary data transferred from the first storagedevice to the second storage device.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14,wherein the memory further includes instructions that, when executed,cause the apparatus to, in response to the selection of the recordedprogram, prompt for the insertion of a removable storage medium into thecontent rendering system.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein theremovable storage medium comprises a DVD-RAM.